PSA vs. SGC turnaround update

[LACardsGuy]

PSA - 12 mantle cards with them since last November. Has been in "assembly" for almost 2 months.

SGC - 4 cards sent in 2 weeks ago. On way back.

[darwinbulldog]

Money is time.

[ullmandds]

no surprise(s) there.

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

no surprise(s) there.

Ditto!

[vthobby]

I just submitted a LARGE order on June 26th.....that was the day I entered the order online. Sent the cards, they were there over July 4th Holiday and Voila!

Grades Popped today! July 9th. There really is no other company righ now that even remotely compares to SGC.

ID NAME DESCRIPTION GRADE AUTH CODE
1 1980-81 Topps #6 Bird/Erving/Johnson -- 5.5 --
2 1980-81 Topps #6 Bird/Erving/Johnson -- 7 --
3 1987-88 Fleer #59 Michael Jordan -- 6.5 --
4 1987-88 Fleer #59 Michael Jordan -- 8 --
5 1988-89 Fleer #17 Michael Jordan -- 9 --
6 1990 Kenner Starting Lineup MICHAEL JORDAN Brown 9 --
7 1988-89 Fleer #120 Michael Jordan All-Star 9 --
8 1986-87 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan -- 6.5 --
9 1986-87 Fleer Sticker #8 Michael Jordan -- 5 --
10 1987-88 Fleer Sticker #2 Michael Jordan -- 7.5 --
11 1986-87 Fleer #26 Clyde Drexler -- 9 --
12 1986-87 Fleer #82 Akeem Olajuwon -- 8.5 --
13 2009-10 Upper Deck First Ed. #196 STEPHEN CURRY Gold 9.5 -- $30
14 1996-97 Fleer Metal #181 Kobe Bryant -- 9.5 --
15 2020-21 Panini Prizm #278 Lamelo Ball Silver Prizm 8.5 --
16 1967 O-Pee-Chee #150 Mickey Mantle -- 2 --
17 1969 Topps #500 MICKEY MANTLE -- 4.5 --
18 1961 Topps #211 Bob Gibson -- 7.5 --
19 1961 Topps #344 Sandy Koufax -- 5.5 --
20 1961 Topps #35 Ron Santo -- 7 --
21 1961 Topps #484 Hank Aaron MVP 8 --
22 1959 Topps #478 Bob Clemente -- 4 --
23 1970 Topps #189 Thurman Munson -- 5.5 --
24 1970 O-Pee-Chee #189 Thurman Munson -- 3 --
25 1973 Topps Candy Lids THURMAN MUNSON -- 4 --
26 1973 Topps #615 Mike Schmidt -- 4.5 -- $30
27 1989 Upper Deck #1 Ken Griffey Jr. -- 8 --
28 2001 Topps Traded T247 Albert Pujols -- 9 --
29 2019 Topps #410 FERNANDO TATIS JR. -- 9.5 --
30 2000 Bowman #236 Tom Brady -- 9 --
31 2000 Skybox Impact #27 Tom Brady -- 9 --
32 2020 Topps Chrome F1 #1 Lewis Hamilton -- 9.5 --

Mike

[bobbyw8469]

I have no problem with SGC. I want to use them so bad. I have a hard time justifying $30 per card. I also am dismayed that they don't bring the money PSA does. I want to see how PSA handles my missing order.

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I have no problem with SGC. I want to use them so bad. I have a hard time justifying $30 per card. I also am dismayed that they don't bring the money PSA does. I want to see how PSA handles my missing order.

Yeah, missing cards are not good! Good luck Bobby, hope they come through!

Mike

[YankeeHotelFoxtrot]

Last PSA submission turnaround time: 1 year 1 month.

Last 4 SGC submissions at $26 per card (not 30): Never longer than 3 weeks shipped back to me in total time.

[BuzzD]

Bobby, what order is missing?

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I have no problem with SGC. I want to use them so bad. I have a hard time justifying $30 per card. I also am dismayed that they don't bring the money PSA does. I want to see how PSA handles my missing order.

I guess it depends on the card. If you have a few mid to higher end (>$500) pre-war cards, it could be worth the $30 per card. The ROI between SGC and PSA might not be that big of a difference in that case. Now, if you're talking more modern stuff, it doesn't make sense IMO.

[Oscar_Stanage]

We go back and forth on all these grading companies, pros cons etc. I won’t rehash it here again

What I will say is that cannot comprehend how someone can send cards away and wait 10 months. How is that enjoyable? I think PSA adherents are just cut from a different cloth. I regularly crack ‘valuable’ PSA cards and send to SGC and probably have cut $1000 in theoretical value off of each of a dozen cards by doing it. I like collecting sets in uniform slabs and could not care less if some flipper would pay less for my EX-PSA 5 McGraw Tolstoy is now an SGC 4 in a tuxedo. I’m not selling it to you anyway

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by BuzzD

Bobby, what order is missing?

One of the supplemental "golden oldies" orders....around 123 cards. Over $5,000 worth.

[BuzzD]

Wow, did they ever acknowledge receipt of the order or was it graded and they never got it to you?

[chalupacollects]

I had submitted a Collectors Club submission to PSA and was delivered to them on 3/2/2021. Shipped back to me on 6/24/21. Received on 6/26. So it would seem they are catching up considering the complete date chart showed September 2020 for those submissions...

[YazFenway08]

I just recently submitted my first ever SGC order

They received on July 7…now in “post grading process” as of today.

My question…one of the earlier posters shared their grades electronically…do these become available on their website through the login portal at the “post grading” stage? Or do they just send an email notifying you? Just curious because I don’t see anything like that and assumed they release the grades well in advance of shipping back based on the earlier posts.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by BuzzD

Wow, did they ever acknowledge receipt of the order or was it graded and they never got it to you?

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=304913

[Lorewalker]

Even if SGC sells for less than PSA, if they can get your cards back to you in a week or two compared to PSA who is taking months to over a year, as a seller that has to be a viable option.

For collectors I get not wanting to pay $30 per card but it could be a year or longer before we ever see PSA grading for less than $30 a card.

[Kutcher55]

I just sent my first cards in ever for grading. Been back in this hobby for two years now and never wanted to wait that long. But with SGC turnaround reportedly 20-25 days, I had five items that I felt barely justified the $30 price tag. Also, it's partly as an experiment out of genuine curiosity.

I agree that pound for pound you get better resale value with PSA, especially after 1960 or so. But I think there are plenty of exceptions to that rule and most (not all) collectors view SGC as legit and on par or even tougher than PSA when it comes to grading standards. Also with the issues surrounding PSA, there's no guarantee their slabs will always carry a premium over SGC.

Anyway, two of my five items are Led Zeppelin 1975 Panini stickers that I just want slabbed, because led zep is the greatest rock band of all time (IMO) and I think the stickers will go up in value after Page and Plant pass away. But really I just want them slabbed because they will be safe and I want them as part of my collection because again it's Led Zeppelin -- although the fact that they are Panini which is a name in the industry made me think they do have collector value. Plus they are just cool and usually if I think something is cool other collectors do which = value.

The other three cards are kind of borderline subs since I hardly ever spend good money for raw. They are a Walter Payton RC that I hope gets a 4 or better (it has color fading otherwise it could be a 6), and a couple of 1941 playballs (Bill Dickey and Jimmy Foxx) that should be in the 2-4 range. In all three cases as long as I don't get "As" for them then the $30 ($35 with tax, shipping etc) will be worth it.

Clearly not getting rich with this move, but turnaround time is a massive factor. Plus SGC customer service got back to me within a couple of hours when I was curious if they would slab my LZ cards. Impressive. This was all enough to get me to pull the lever after I debated doing this for a long time.

Who wants to be without their cards for that long unless you are in this almost entirely to make $?

[YazFenway08]

Chase just beat me to it. The time value part is real and I think the re-sale spreads might just narrow a bit, at least for golden era vintage.

I love the way cards look in SGC and mostly collect that way…but always try to think about future sales/value whether for me, my heirs, etc. Personally, I am leaning on sending all my pre-1980ish to SGC and everything newer waiting on PSA. But I have just assumed we never see sub-$25 grading again since SGC could be doing it now with these pretty impressive turnarounds. They clearly have staffed up to accommodate and could take a bit of that bulk submission business if they wanted it.

[drcy]

Resale speed and grading turnaround time are integral parts of making money as a seller/resale seller, especially in a volatile market. In fact, many resellers premise their business on the ability to resell their items quickly.

There was an earlier thread on Mr. Mint, and his business was based on selling what he bought as quickly as possible for profit. He was a reseller not an investor.

[hcv123]

In my opinion, the quality of grading (for better and worse) is pretty much equal (similarly so for Beckett, although I haven't seen as many Beckett graded cards). The majority of the people I speak to definitely like the appearance of the cards in the SGC holder over the PSA holder. I believe the differential in market value is largely driven by 3 factors - 1) The set registry - it is the only viable platform where collectors can compete with their collections, 2) PSA definitely has a huge advantage in terms of the user friendly quality of their platform and the amount of data available and 3) PSA does a heck of a job marketing (head and shoulders above the others)

[drcy]

In any other area, only really stupid people would pay 2x more for an item because of its holder. Obviously, I'm talking about PSA versus SGC, and not PSA versus PRO or AAA.

Maybe the hobby suffers from a case of mass stupidity.

I also wonder about the long-term interesting intelligence of paying 2x more for the same card. How wise is it longterm invest in a holder?

[vthobby]

Simply put:

PSA = my grandmother walking to the post office in 95 degree heat (post office is 6.5 miles from her house)......when she gets there she realizes she forgot or lost the item she was mailing

SGC = exit velocity of Vlad Guerrero Jr. HR in All Star Game 2021

Peace, Mike

[Tabe]

Does SGC grade thick/patch cards?

[Bill77]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Does SGC grade thick/patch cards?

Yes they do. I don't know what the maximum thickness is for their recessed holders. I have 2 that I sent one Upper Deck which wasn't very thick and one Fleer that standard Memorabilia card thickness. There is a little movement on the Fleer card as the recess is a little deeper than the card. The best feature of the recessed holders is that the gasket doesn't touch the cards if that was ever a concern for anyone.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Bill77

Yes they do. I don't know what the maximum thickness is for their recessed holders. I have 2 that I sent one Upper Deck which wasn't very thick and one Fleer that standard Memorabilia card thickness. There is a little movement on the Fleer card as the recess is a little deeper than the card. The best feature of the recessed holders is that the gasket doesn't touch the cards if that was ever a concern for anyone.

Excellent. I've got a Brady patch card that's quite thick that I need graded. I'll give them a shot!

[brianclat11]

I've recently been sending vintage to SGC and prefer them for that anyways. I did just send a Panini cracked ice Joe Burrow card to them because of the turnaround times. I'm a firm believer that SGC will close the gap on PSA for resale because of their customer service and quality. I agree that 30$ a card is pretty steep, but it does limit the sheer number of cards they will receive. People have to think twice about sending them in. In my opinion, we want people to be a little more discretionary in their submissions.

[Hirbonzig]

I’m sure if been said her before. The coin collecting community has a saying “buy the coin, not the holder “. This holds true for cards also. You don’t have to date Ginger, Mary-Ann is fine by me and a less expensive date.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by Wid_Conroy

I like collecting sets in uniform slabs and could not care less if some flipper would pay less for my EX-PSA 5 McGraw Tolstoy is now an SGC 4 in a tuxedo. I’m not selling it to you anyway

Uniformity (and a dislike for many brands slabs/labels) is what’s keeping me from branching out. I have 647 PSA graded card…and one Beckett. If I start adding SGC I may go nuts.

[Mike D.]

I sent a 41 card “value-modern” sub last November. It finally was “received” in Feb, and just went to grading today.

They ask you to review your sub at this point, and good thing…they had one card listed twice and another missing.